Our family is deeply saddened to announce the passing of our father, Jack Roland Pittman Jr. of Suwanee, Ga., 87, on Sunday, September 4, 2022. Born on June 16, 1935, in Memphis, Tenn. to Mary Ruth Milner Pittman and Jack Roland Pittman Sr. Jack was preceded in death by his parents and sisters, Jacqueline and Ruth Ann Jolly.
Pittman
He is survived by his family Yvonne Watkins Pittman of Suwanee; Kate Pittman (Burke) of Lilburn; Jennie Johnson of Braselton; Mark Pittman (Michelle) of Duluth; Dan Pittman (Susie) Suwanee; Tom Pittman New Bern, N.C.; Gretchen Attanasio of Roswell; and grandchildren: Bryan Johnson (Brittany), Emily Mitchell, Katherine Johnson, Natalie Freels (Zach), Lillie, Sam, Nick, Amanda, and Luciana Attanasio; and great grandchildren: Matthew, Alexa, River, Kora, Luna and Ellie.
Jack was a self-made man and hard worker. As a kid in Memphis, he earned $1 a day selling vegetables. As a boy he hung-out at the local gas station helping out; when he was old enough, they gave him a job. Working for Red Ace gas stations in Nashville, Jack was promoted from station manager, to district manager, and to property development.
These promotions required him to relocate, so he packed up and moved his growing family when asked. Between his moves from Tennessee to Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and finally landed in Atlanta in 1966.
When he joined Whiteway Lighting in Atlanta, Jack left the management side of running gas stations and began a new career in equipment sales. Since Jack enjoyed meeting people and developing friendships, the experience of sales suited him well. Those were the days of big oil and unlimited expense accounts…until the1973 oil embargo changed the industry and forced manufacturers to lay off their in-house salesmen.
In very lean times, Jack had to start from scratch and redefine his career. He started his own petroleum-equipment sales company; the only problem was that few gas stations were being built. To make ends meet, and to support his family during the recession, Jack became a door-to-door salesman, selling Paymaster check-writing machines to businesses of every type. Jack said selling Paymaster check-writers was where he really learned the business of sales.
His large family and new house motivated him to sell the heck out of Paymaster, but that is when he stopped being home most nights and began his life as a traveling salesman. He racked up 100,000 road miles a year traveling the southeast in a tiny mustard-yellow Ford Pinto packed to the gills with check-writing machines. When the petroleum industry recovered, his petroleum equipment sales company began to flourish. Over the years, and at various times, five of his six children worked with him at Jack Pittman & Associates. Two of his sons continued with the company long-term and eventually took over the business.
Jack enjoyed driving, even very long distances, and he loved to explore the country by automobile and motorcycle, making friends along the way. He spent a lot of time in Florida, Tennessee, Maine, and Nevada/California. One of his adventures took him to Death Valley, Calif., where he discovered Amargosa Junction and the Amargosa Opera House. Amargosa is an abandoned mining town in California, just across the Nevada state line where the eccentric New York artist and dancer, Marta Becket, laid claim to the remains of the adobe hotel, opera house, and supervisors’ houses.
Marta gave stage performances nightly, but mostly to an empty opera house. She painted the walls with an audience of Elizabethan king, queen and royal court. Marta Becket was discovered by the world in 1970 when National Geographic stumbled in after doing a story on Death Valley. Jack discovered Amargosa and Marta Becket about 11 years later, became a “patron of the arts” and an ambassador for the Amargosa Opera House.
He returned several times a year, remodeling one of the tiny houses, and finally moving to the area where he remained for several years. Jack collected Marta’s paintings, and attended her opening and closing shows every year. He also treated family and friends to personalized tours of the geologic wonders of Death Valley, old mining towns, Hoover Dam, and casinos of both Las Vegas and every little dusty spot that once was a mining town in between.
In addition to collecting art by Marta and other friends, Jack collected dragons. His company logo is St. George the Dragon Slayer, so dragons just became a thing. While in the desert he bought a telescope and took an interest in astronomy. He also discovered a love for wild birds, filling feeders, learning how to identify and photograph them. He played around at prospecting for gold, and took pleasure in visiting historic mining districts of the West. He enjoyed the ballet, plays, a good cigar, and a Rum & Coke with friends, many of whom he introduced to his favorite corner of America between Death Valley and Las Vegas.
Jack let each person in his life know they were special to him. “Grandpa Jack” was known for his frequent two-minute phone calls to keep up with his children and grandkids. He will be sorely missed.
A Celebration-of-Life service and reception to honor Jack was held on September 15, 2022 at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Johns Creek, Ga. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in memory of Jack Pittman may be made to Amargosa Opera House, 608 Highway 127 Death Valley, Calif. 92328; or Doctors Without Borders, P.O. Box 5023 Hagerstown, Md. 21741-5023; or Catholic Relief Services, 228 W. Lexington Street Baltimore, Md. 21201-3443.
Arrangements entrusted to Crowell Brothers Funeral Homes and Crematory, 5051 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Peachtree Corners.
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